Christmas Baking

For the second year running, my place became the sight of a major Christmas baking festival. It's been underway for the better part of the last two days. And the girls just left to deliver the goodies.

Here are a few shots of the party.

I see I haven't got many pics of the finished product. Those will come later... above I am eating delicious perogies that Kristen made. I am sure she made 10 dozen of the little gems.

The marshmallows were for the fudge I think. Not something I eat though. And my poor pots were so dirty. Maybe I should help with the cleaning seeing as I did nothing but eat.....

The two above are shots of the mess, and the mice. The oreos are going to become those funny little mice Dev makes. They have an oreo on the bottom, a cherry dipped in chocolate for the body. A hershy kiss for a head, and the cherry stem is the tail. They are cute.... I'll get a picture of them for the next post.

Headlines

I spent a good part of the afternoon looking through the paper. It was Friday of Saturday when they have a big fat version. Monday's was about 4 pages by comparison. Anywhoooo, there were several really interesting articles in there.
One was about Edmonton's recycling set-up. They are building a $70 M "gasifier" to make the majority of the waste into gas or steam to create methanol, and eventually a more valuable ethanol. Which would be nice to see some of the corn crops go back to the food cycle rather than to ethanol...... but that's another story all together. Eventually the City of Edmonton will only send a few trucks to the landfill everyday. The only trouble is they're only using residential waste which only makes about 20% of all waste. But we must start somewhere.
Secondly, a story about a circle of ice forming at just the right temperature can make something similar to a crop-circle in the water. They found one of these in Mississauga last week on a pond. It's called a creek circle. I guess it's when some ice forms in the middle of the water, rather than the edges. The little ice shavings will gather together and kind of float there for a while making it look like a circle in the middle of the water. Pretty nice picture.
And finally one of the best headlines I've seen all year. I didn't think you could get away with such things these days, but it said; Two Wangs Make a Right for China.
It was from a curling tournament where two people by the name of Wang must have won their game or something. That is very clever.
Well, it's one thirty in the afternoon and I've finished my day at work already. Luckily it was a light one for me because it is a terribly cold -25 degrees. Brrrrr.

Oilers lose

If it's goals you like, last nights hockey game was one for the ages. Trouble is, the Oilers were on the losing end of a 9-2 romp. The Chicago Blackhawks made the Oilers look like novice players. Every bounce that could've gone their way did. Deflections and funny bounces ended up in the back of the Oiler goal. And everything the Oilers tried bounced the wrong way.
The trouble with a score like that is none of the excuses really hold much weight. It was a good old fashioned ass-kicking. Not something I have ever seen at a game before.
So clearly, mom picked a good night to stay on the couch with her book.

The strangest thing happened right at the start of the game when Cal Nichols (former owner), Gary Bettman (NHL Commish), Bill Daly (VP of NHL) and Patrick Laforge (Oiler President?) came to sit down right behind us. It was hilarious. Eavesdropping throughout the game I learned a lot about buttering people up. I don't think I could handle an evening let alone a career of suck-holing one another like that. I do think there were some drinks had over supper though ;)
When Cal offered to leave with about 10 minutes left in the game for a night-cap Mr. Bettman said it was out of the question. He would NOT be seen leaving early - no matter the score. That's when I finally turned around and said it was likely because Bettman didn't want to miss overtime. The response from both Cal and Bettman was something like, "We'd need three days for the Oilers to catch up in this one".

It was a real treat to watch the high-flying Hawks though. Kane scored a beauty. As did Brian Campbell. Duncan Keith was terrific all night. It was a real lesson for the Oilers. Maybe they'll fair a little better tonight.

Chilly

After a terribly cold weekend I went to work this morning and the temperature read minus 25 with a windchill making it feel like 35 below. It was meant to warm up during the day to a balmy -18 degrees. After yesterday this should be fine, but I didn't have to work yesterday.
So I rolled in at 6 AM for the voluntary early start to deal with the Christmas mail, and really lucked out. All I had to deliver was the afternoon portion of one guys walk. Not bad at all! I was only out in the cold for an hour and a half. A lot nicer than the usual 3 or 4 hour walk. But with 5 layers on my body, and two on my legs, I went out and really enjoyed the walk today. The cold doesn't really get to you when you are walking around. If I were standing out there it would be a different story.

Also had a call from mom last night offering up her ticket to the Oiler game for tomorrow. So I will be off to watch the Blackhawks and all their high-flying young stars. And Ales Hemsky has been incredible this year. It sure looks like it will be a whale of a game. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good one. The last one I was at a month ago was a real snoozer. You never know what you'll get at the games. But I will NEVER turn down an offer.

This has been in the works for a while...

At the risk of making you think that there is something profound in this post, I will admit that I've been meaning to get this down for quite some time.
I had a silly encounter with someone while working the other day. And I do see it all. From people reaching their arms out to grab the mail wearing their pajamas in the middle of the day (which might just mean they don't work during the day) to every type of dog you've seen. Not to mention the places some people live.
But what captured my attention last week was someone's name. I had a signature item for this locksmith. I asked for his surname to enter on the sheet and he said McMurray. Ok I thought, and started spelling it out. When I looked up he was pointing to this frame on the wall. He said, "first name's Fort....... My mother had a sense of humour....... the witch."
Seriously. He was called Fort McMurray. No kidding.
Among others I've seen which may or may not be real are David Bowie, a few Cinnamon's, a Harvest Moon, and John Assman. And those are just off the top of my head.
I am not sure if I should put all these names up here, but I had a Marion Friesen. The first name is spelled differently, but that's a name some of us know. There was a Wally Friesen too. Seriously.

On a totally unrelated matter, I watch Horton Hears a Who last night. Cool movie. Made me think of reading all those Dr. Seuss books as a kid. The ryhme or cadence or whatever he had is one-of-a-kind. This one is about an elephant who sees a speck go floating by in the air, and he hears someone screaming for help. Turns out he notices an entire city on the speck of dust on the end of a flower. It's cute. And the best part is it was short so I did not fall asleep in the middle of it.
I do think we are under 40 days until the Africa trip..... yay!!!!

And to my surprise.....

The tire didn't cost me nearly as much as the clowns at Fountain Tire quoted me. I was in St. Albert on Friday after dropping Dev at work and had some yummy homemade burgers at mom and dad's. When I arrived there, there was a bed in the doorway. Ahhh, grandma wants another bed at her place so she can have a spare room for visitors. Moving more stuff to/from grans. Story of our life lately it seems. But that's ok. She knows what she wants.
After dropping the bed we thought we'd go see if they could find me a new tire seeing as I couldn't repair the old one. After a short wait we determined that my free tires courtesy of Marty last year were discontinued - hence the good deal when I bought them. So they selected a new one that would match and told me they would call when it was ready. So we went and had those delicious burgers and Canadian Tire called. The guy took a measurement of the tread depth on the damaged tire and worked out the warranty for road hazards. Turns out there was 0% wear on the tire and I just had to pay the difference.
$37 later I had a brand new tire on, and the little donut back in the trunk.
I'm just left to wonder if those jokers at Fountain Tire will reimburse me for the $40 they charged to fix the flat the first time (which clearly did not work). At least I know where to take my tires when I need repairs.

Loonie

Loonie .... yup, it sure is. I have been keeping an eye on the CAN/USD exchange rate, and saw our Canadian dollar take a record one-day drop to settle at 81 cents. It has really been bouncing up and down, but I want to buy some more American money for the Africa trip. Last time I was in I got about 96 cents USD for my loonies. It would hurt a little more to go buy today.
I was hoping to hit 90 again and I'd be happy. Good thing I bought some when we were on par earlier this year. Phew.... but it's sure funny how it can change so fast.

And speaking of money I had a slow leak on my rear passenger tire of my car about a month ago. Finally got it repaired for $40 a week and a half ago. When I went for supper at grandma's on Sunday I left to find the same tire totally flat. When I got the chance to take it in today they told me there was sidewall damage and they could not repair this tire. So my free tire from Marty didn't even last a year. Now I'll have to decide where to get a new one. $150 seems a little steep. Bummer.

And my mom recommends....

I'm not going to write anything about politics. I'll wait until I see what happens with Obama. I was reading this book called Bad Land by Jonathan Raban. It's interesting so far - a story about the people who settled the western USA. I'd say you can safely include the people who settled in Western Canada at around the same time. And it fascinated me to think it was all happening only a hundred years ago.
There are some incredible lines about photographers during that time who were close to artists, but also close to hardware store owner, or even a doctor. People had to send pictures of the new homestead to their families in England, Germany, Russia or whatever.... Fascinating.

But this little part struck me as quite lovely:

.... and with the character of it's landscape, where nothing got in the way of the newcomer's eye or put a drag on his ambitious imagination. I'd felt it myself. No sooner had I set foot on the prairie than I was having designs on it and thinking big. It was dangerously elating to be able to see so very far under a sky so very clear.

Do I sound much like my mom?

Simon Winchester

It's a little delayed, but last Friday I had a date with my mom. It was going to be me, mom, and dad until pops realized he would miss another Oiler game. So he drove mom down, hung out at my place and watched the game while I took off with my mom.
But you don't really need too many details of my whereabouts (and my family's) posted on here. The point is the Edmonton Literary Festival.
After my initial alarm at being twenty years younger than anyone else there, we settled in and waited for the clowns to work out some technical difficulties (Mr. Winchester never did get a working mic). He came out and talked about meeting with the folks who were approving new words for the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) just before he came to Edmonton. And the only reason I mention this is that the Edmonton Journal coverage ended there. The reporter must have had a date.
Simon Winchester wrote a few books you may recognize including The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa.
I can't even begin to try and tell the stories the way he did, but he began a journey from Uganda to England, to the troubles in Northern Ireland (making front page on the world papers), to Washinton, DC the day Watergate hit the news (again making the front pages around the world) to London, to New York etc.
He mentioned two things that struck me as a journalist (at least someone who has the training and a little bit of experience, if not the booming radio voice or natural skill). One was a piece of advice he'd received - Never lose your sense of wonder. Isn't that true? A person will be dead if he/she doesn't enjoy the things we see everyday. And the second was the only way a journalist can have any staying power is to write books.
So a series of amazing events occur, and a little book about the making of the OED has now sold 2.5 million copies. The Professor and the Madman is the book.
What an interesting guy, and what wonderful stories he tells.
And it never stops amazing me how my mom comes up with these cool things to do. I'll go on a date with her anytime.
I don't know if this post makes much sense - maybe one of those "guess you should've been there" moments. The thoughts I am trying to convey are that it was terrific to get out to something like that. The stories are almost unbelievable and I guess that's what makes him such a successful author.

Zambia

There's a first for everything I guess. I delivered a postcard yesterday from Zambia!!! It's the first one I've seen in a solid year. It's a funny thing about my job - delivering postcards from strange places. The back of it had Zambian stamps which look familiar to me - and I flipped it over and saw it was a picture of a lake or big pond in front of the University in Lusaka. I better go check that out for myself in January.
Hope the exams went well Sarah!

One PERFECT week

What a start to the month of October. And a finish to September here in Edmonton. On Wednesday last week I finished work quite early and piled in the truck with mom and dad and went fishing.

I really thought Sarah would like to see dad's hat - but it was incredible out there. What a splendid evening it was.

The sun was shining so beautifully. And an added bonus on the way out of the crescent when we saw a Canada Postie still working. Ahhh the little things in life. The lady was still delivering her route and I had been home and out to St. Albert and on the way to the lake. (Dad also waved at school as he towed the boat by while staff meeting was on.)

Proof that mom came along this time. In her usual spot up at the front.

That little tiny Jack fish is the only one we saw all day. Dad caught it, and I was skunked. But the hat really does rule!!! Giant Tiger special. He tells me that's what happens when you go fishing and forget to bring a cap along. He bought that one in Saskatoon.

Random thoughts

My sister inspired me write one of these posts that nobody should have to bother reading. But I was also itching to post something .... anything.... but didn't know what to say. Well, I was thinking of it this afternoon and decided to pop in my headphones and listen to talk radio this afternoon while I was walking/working.
Well, Adler, the guy on the radio in the afternoon, was talking about the upcoming elections in both Canada and the US. What a time for the political junkies... not that would be a huge nut for this stuff, but I like it. They were really talking a lot about the Green Party's leader Elizabeth May being allowed to participate in the leader's debate. Fine with me. But why does it have to be all about gender???? She said something about 5 political leaders (all male) saying NO and four television network exec's (all men) who were conspiring the keep the women out of it. Oh my goodness, I think that's a little bit of a stretch. Oh well, she's got all those donkey's shaking because I think she is likely a pretty good debater. Perhaps she's a bit of a pitbull. Like Sarah Palin.... which also makes me laugh. Could Obama really have been implying Palin was a pig with his "Lipstick on a Pig" remark? I wouldn't think so, but it sounds like the Republican's (some call them hate-filled gas bags right Unc?) are riding pretty high. And the Dem's look a little deflated.
It would sure be surprising to see Obama lose. Lots of Conservatives in the States though.

Finally, I have really put my shredder to the test over the last few days. I have been cleaning up piles of stuff and trying to get my apartment under control after some minor neglect. So every once in a while I shove a new sheet in there, and wonder what I did with all my stuff before everyone started worrying about ID theft and what-not. I don't think anyone would be sifting through the dumpster in my place. That's nasty!

Autumn has also arrived, so perhaps I will drag my camera along with me this week, and get some shots of the beautiful city. It's a splendid time of year I'd say.

Africa

Well the tickets are bought and paid for. I am now officially one of the few North Americans to be heading to Africa for Sarah's wedding. Phew!!! I was worried for a little while that something would get in the way.... like my better judgement. Just kidding!!! It is pretty crazy how much it costs, but this only happens once so I am not at all worried about that. It's a trip to Africa. And one I have been waiting to make for a long, long time.
Dad went and arranged everything with the travel agent, and all me and Devyn had to do was go in and pay. Jan 14th to Feb 4th. Including lots of travel time.
It's really interesting to think that I fly from Edmonton to Dallas, to Washington and then to Jo-burg and Lusaka. I wonder how a 15 hour flight will feel on my ass.....
Can't wait. It is one of the most exciting things in my life. Now I just have to wait 4.5 months.

BBQ

Things have changed a little around my place. I have a new appliance on which to cook supper. Dad bought a new bbq, and he fixed up the old one for my place. Pretty darn nice if you ask me.

The thing was in pretty rough shape, but dad even refinished the wood on it. Like new! A coat of heat resistant paint did wonders for the old beast.

Here's when he delivered it and turned it on for the first time.

And he brought a giant steak when he delivered the bbq. Kevin came over with a steak of his own. Dad's steak was more like a roast really, but it was yummy!

On a lighter note, I threw some hot dogs on there last night. They were yummy too. No photo evidence of that though.

Folk Fest II

I guess most of these are the pics that nobody should have to see, but I find it so boring to take pics of the musicians. They are like sitting ducks up there. Not creativity involved. If I could get my hands on Hal's pics, they'd be more interesting. And Unc's pics of the bands are great because of his mega zoom camera. Mine were mostly a green and white tarp with some people crowded underneath playing music. Could'nt make out much else.

Front row centre. Sorry, but I couldn't resist. How silly did I look in Hal's glasses and gran's straw hat from Mexico?
Andrea rubbing ice on her head, Dev with some folk fest juice, and Jeff doing something....
Doesn't Ryan look great? Can't really say much else about that picture... hehe

The last one is from Thursday night. Mike Rennick and his lady Meg. I am not sure why he looks so scared. Or sheepish.

Folk Fest '08

I am shamed into posting after Uncle Wally drove back to Seattle and put his photos on here. He either spends more time on the computer than I do, or he's just better at prioritizing.
It was a wonderful weekend as usual. The weather was perfect, I only brought my camera on Sunday, and pulled it out once.
Here's Dev on Saturday morning waiting for the chauffeur to arrive. Flipping through the program to see where we go first.

Devyn's checking her pulse to make sure Craig Roberge and Jeff aren't going to give her a heart attack.

Mark and Craig philosophizing in the beer gardens.

Me and Jeff would trade text messages during the workshops to determine the next rendezvous at the beer gardens.

Maybe we were dancing ..... but one thing is for sure.... I think I should've pulled the camera out more often. Perhaps I can find some more from Dev's camera.

August Long

No pics yet, but we had another successful camping trip over the weekend. Twin Lakes, the chosen destination for this trip. It's only about an hour away. We took Brayden with us this time. He's Dev's youngest brother. He had never been camping in a tent before, so it was quite fun. I hope he had a good time.


The weather was ok. Some sun, some rain, some wind and cloud. Typical Alberta summers. For the very beginning of August, it was damn cold on Friday night.


And now it's a few days of work in between another weekend party. Folk Festival this weekend. Sarah, I wish you and Al were here. It doesn't feel quite the same after last summer. I'd sure love to go meet Al in the beer gardens..... oh well, I'll have to entertain myself with some music this year. No Patties either, so it will certainly feel different.


But mom, Unc and Hal will be here, along with other usual suspects like Car, Ry, Jeff, Dan. It'll be lots of fun.



I was thinking about a post my uncle put up (you can find the link on my page) about Obama. I try to listen to conversations around me when I am sorting mail - I guess it's the right-wing radio show producer rearing it's head again - but it's neat to hear what others are talking about. Obama comes up a lot. (So does the beheading on the Greyhound bus) and I wondered if we Canadians can really get a feel for the buzz (or lack thereof)

So yeah, I bought my first GQ magazine, and I wasn't too thrilled. Unless you want to look at Tom Brady's girlfriend in her underwear, there's really nothing else. The most interesting part was a quick Cole's notes version of Where to get your political news. The tv stuff like CNN, FOX and MSNBC. But also a number of interesting websites. I don't think there are too many people who don't turn to the Internet first. Oh well.
Before this gets any more random, I will go make supper rather than sitting here any longer.

Can't stop playing on the computer....

I stumbled upon this article on the interweb somewhere. Amazing! I can just see it now.

Boy: "Dad, how was your fishing trip?"

Dad: "Got myslef a 165 lb dying suicidal guy"

Boy: "You got one of those?"

Dad: "Yeah, I sure did. But, the one you had on the line last spring was much bigger"

Or something like that....

Fisherman hooks drowning man, reels him in

By The Associated PressFriday, July 18, 2008 - Bangor Daily News

HALLOWELL, Maine — A Maine angler used his fishing rod to reel in a man who survived a jump from a bridge and was drowning in the Kennebec River.
Bob Greene of Hallowell says he heard what he thought was a cormorant making noise in the distance 4:30 a.m. Thursday as he was having his coffee and reading his newspaper. He says about 20 minutes passed before he realized there was a man bobbing down the river.
Greene says his first instinct was to jump in but a 911 dispatcher told him to throw something to the man. So he snagged the man’s shirt with a fishing lure and reeled him in. The man was in critical condition at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Wonder which bridge? There are a million of themin Portland. I just get a feeling it might've been the one Devyn and me had to cross after a few drinks in Portland last month. I'll include a picture of me drinking one Portland's finest microbrews. Actually it was like a Big Bear. Yup.

Pembina River Night's 2008

A fantastic time this year! The music was much better than last year, and the weather was perfect. Last year was a little too hot, but we had wonderful weather this time around.

Jeff Stuart and his 6 piece band. They were really,really rockin this time around. I loved it.

Here's Dev fooling around in the farmer's field. Cody is looking for a needle in there.

I was pondering a joke from Fred Eaglesmith, and Carly clearly got it before I did.

Andrea and Carly figured we would cue the cheesy '80's theme song music about four crazy pals at a folk music festival. Left is Michelle, Dev's boss at O'Mailles. And Cody in front. A fellow Lombard Crescent resident from years ago.

Here was are with wheat sticking out of our teeth like real country-folk. What a great time this year. Can't wait for the next excuse to go to Rangeton Park.

July 4th, 2008 Craig and Fiona

Craig Roberge and Fiona got married two weeks after Craig and Jen.

They were married at the Whitemud Creek Community Hall. Really nice location on the far south west side of Edmonton. And it was a smokin hot day too. Poor guys in their suits.

Craig and his mama.

I had a lot of fun with Craig's dad at both of the weddings. And at the stag. What goes on behind the blue gates, stays behind the blue gates. You got it Clark!

Devyn and Craig. And a giant bottle of tequila.Here's Fiona and Alana with me and Craig.

Summer at my place

I've neglected to put up any shots of my place for quite a while. Here are a few of the summer downtown.

Dev having a cold one out on the patio.

My Lily a couple of weeks ago. It is growing like a weed.

Dink is rolled up in that Mexican blanket. He had a little too much fun.

Jason's 30th was the reason we were gathered when Kev had a few too many.

And here's Dev's fish from the other week. Started out like it would be a good day. Then as quickly as they started biting..... they stopped. I think we had 6 in total that day.

A few more.

As luck would have it, the camera was dead, so I've relied on Andrea's pictures. Thanks!

Jeff and Trevor. Trev was a last-minute addition who doubled as a drink ticket salesperson.

Me and Craig digging in for some more food.

That's Trevor and Fiona. Fiona was married to Craig two weeks after this party. That was another good time.

Here are the boys a little later on during the night.

And of course, Craig's mom. I love her! His parents have always been really close with all of us.

Where does the time go?

Now that I've finished posting holiday pictures, I will add a couple from Craig and Jen's wedding. June 14th, 2008.

Here's Jen getting ready for the toss.As the party came in, I was told to introduce each of them while they were passing out drinks to the guests. Most of you know already seeing as the wedding was more than a month ago, but I was emcee for the first time in my life, and what a great time it was.

This was during second supper. There was a strong contingent of us stationed around the food. Jeff, Trevor Tchir, Craig R, Dan, me and Dev, Mark and Alana. With that crowd, you can be assured there was lots of laughter. See below.

It truly was the most fun I've had at a wedding. This growing up thing ain't so bad!Mark Moran and Devyn.

That's it, that's all.

Here's Clara posing with her belly after Marty took us for too much lunch.
You can't see the Canada goose that Clara and Dev are trying to fight.
The Spanish Banks or some beach in Vancouver.
Marty having a smoke and playing guitar. Unusual sight.
And here's some sheep outside Japser. We kind of rushed from Van all the way to Edson. But we saw ton of wildlife. What a great trip!